Why History Is Timeless
Meet the show (and fandom) that’s making history, one un-cancellation at a time.
Can we create positive change during these politically unstable times? We need something that enables and encourages people to use their voices, utilize their historical knowledge, and ensure that women and minorities are being brought to the forefront of society. It is up to US to make this world a better and more equal place. How can we do this? Start by watching a show called Timeless.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Timeless, which has JUST been saved for a 2-hour movie on NBC (YAY!!) after being unrightfully and prematurely cancelled, I will give a brief description.
Timeless is a time traveling show in which Lucy, a historian, Wyatt, a solider, and Rufus, a scientist, are put together as a team to save history from various people (Garcia Flynn in season 1) and organizations (Rittenhouse). Lucy is portrayed by the multitalented and stylish Abigail Spencer, Wyatt by the handsome and talented Matt Lanter, and Rufus by the hilarious and lovable Malcolm Barrett (if you can’t tell, I LOVE the ENTIRE cast). Timeless is not only entertaining and heartwarming, but is also educational. It values love, knowledge, the power of now, and highlights individuals who would otherwise be “lost” or “forgotten” in history.
It is important to remember that violence, chaos, and ignorance must bow before knowledge, and Timeless gives people the knowledge needed to force those things to their very knees. Imagine a place where time travel is possible and you have the ability to witness history. The Time Team not only experiences history, but also protects it. I know there are some moments we would all like to go back to, especially recent ones in American history, but Timeless emphasizes the importance of using our historical knowledge to better our present. How does Timeless do that? By delving into who and what most history textbooks have conveniently left out.
Let’s start with Harriet Tubman. Almost everyone has heard of Harriet Tubman, but did you know she wasn’t just involved in the Underground Railroad? I didn’t, at least not until Timeless.
Timeless taught its viewers, myself included, that Harriet Tubman wasn’t only a liberator, but that she was also a spy and military leader for the Union (talk about a bad-ass woman)! Timeless not only gave its viewers more information on Harriet Tubman, but on obscure events of the Civil War itself. This includes the liberation of 700 enslaved people on June 1, 1863 (an event the Time Team traveled back to in the Season 2 two-part finale). The Smithsonian, which covers Timeless episodes because of how important and educational they are, describes the event as such, “…Tubman, under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, took between 150 and 300 black Union soldiers (the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (African Descent)) up the Combahee River. The river was filled with mines, but Tubman had gathered intel on where they were. Three ships traveled up the river under cover of darkness. By dawn, they had reached the first plantation. Enslaved families ran for the boats, and the soldiers burned everything else” (Kaufman). Talk about a piece of history that has probably never been discussed in a classroom before.
Another figure that has been left out of history textbooks includes Grace Humiston.
Grace Humiston was someone who I knew absolutely nothing about before Timeless, as I had never even heard of her! Timeless gave me my first introduction to the amazing Grace Humiston in the episode, “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes”. After watching this episode, and reading the book (of the same title) that inspired it by Brad Ricca, I am now well versed in who Grace Humiston was. Humiston was one of twelve women to graduate from NYU School of Law in 1903, and was “admitted to the bar in the state of New York in 1905, becoming one of only a thousand female lawyers in the whole United States” (Ricca). Using her law degree for the greater good, Humiston opened The People’s Law Firm. This firm “specialized in helping immigrants and low-income Americans” (Kaufman). Humiston didn’t stop there, as she exposed the system of peonage occurring in the South and was made the first female U.S. District Attorney in history in 1906 (Ricca).
Grace Humiston would not only become infamous for her exposure of the peonage system, but for the case of Ruth Cruger. Ruth had gone missing in 1917, and the NYPD at the time had simply derived that because Ruth was a young, attractive woman, that she must have eloped. This was far from the truth, and Grace exposed a corrupted police force, and fought to make NYC a safer place for young women as a result of Ruth Cruger’s case (Ricca).
While Timeless doesn’t go deep into Humiston’s life specifically, we do get to interact with her, and see her make a speech in a real historical event (although Humiston did not make a speech during this event in actuality). This historical event is a march for women’s rights led by Alice Paul on March 4, 1919. Two hundred suffragettes attended the march in front of NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House where President Woodrow Wilson was going to speak about the League of Nations (Kaufman). The episode of Timeless, “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes”, has Humiston give an inspiring speech about women’s rights, and the power of action over inaction (watch it below to see an example of how powerful, important, and needed the writing, acting, and messages are in Timeless).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwToiLfPWq4.
I still can’t get through this scene without tearing up.
I still can’t believe people have to fight for a show like Timeless. A show that has it all — romance, history, amazing writing — you name it. A show that educates, empowers, demonstrates the power of love (ALL types of love), and most importantly asks its viewers to do some research and learn.
Timeless isn’t just important to me because it tells stories of forgotten, obscured, and/or “lost” history. It’s important to me because it made me feel that loving history wasn’t something to be ashamed of, it’s something to be proud of. Loving and learning history is something that can help change the world. Lucy Preston is a character that young women can (and should) look up to. Wyatt Logan and Rufus Carlin are characters that young men can (and should) look up to.
Timeless gives people of all ages, races, sexes and backgrounds the ability to travel back in time, to learn, to fall in love with its relatable characters, and most importantly, a basis on which to become curious and ask questions. Timeless covers ALL history, and has allowed its audience to meet people such as Robert Johnson, Marie Curie, Judith Campbell, young JFK, Wendell Scott, Benedict Arnold…the list goes on. Remember how I said you should start by watching Timeless to make the world a better and more equal place? This is why and how.
I can even give an example of how Timeless has already done so by impacting viewers and motivating people to ask questions, even from its pilot episode. The pilot episode of Timeless took us back to the Hindenburg, where we met a fictional reporter named Kate Drummond. An article on airships.net, “NBC’s Timeless, the Hindenburg Disaster, and Kate Drummond”, was created and added onto an article about the Hindenburg disaster as a result of people asking questions, “The Hindenburg disaster was recently featured on the NBC show Timeless and a lot of people have been asking about Kate Drummond” (Grossman). Although Drummond was a fictional character, of which there are few fictional historical characters on Timeless, the fact that people asked enough questions for an article to be written, is something amazing.
Something as amazing and important as Timeless shouldn’t end before its time, and Timeless fans have no intention of letting such a powerful show go. Timeless has taught its audience historical information, made us laugh, smile, and cry, and has most importantly introduced its viewers into a community of people who love history and want to make the world a better place.
NBC has just announced that Timeless will indeed be returning for a 2-hour movie (AKA a two-part special). However, it has been stressed by SONY and the writers that watching Timeless on platforms such as Hulu, getting new viewers, and having a HUGE live audience is crucial to getting more Timeless (as in another season) after the movie. The movie will be the end of Timeless on NBC, but NOT the end of Timeless by any means. A SaveTimeless campaign email notes that “Sony Pictures has indicated they are very interested in seeing the show continue in a new home, and to that end our next goal is simple: Recruit new Clockblockers and blow the roof off the ratings for the two-parter this fall”. We’re all SO excited about this movie, we fought hard for it…but we definitely want more Timeless!
So, you guys want to save Timeless for more than a 2-hour movie, or what?
If you want to learn more about Timeless, where you can watch it, and help save it (for beyond the 2 hour movie), please visit https://www.savetimeless.com, follow @SaveTimelessHQ on Twitter and/or like SaveTimelessHQ on Facebook.
SOURCES:
“Grace Humiston.” Timeless Wikia, timeless.wikia.com/wiki/Grace_Humiston.
Grossman, Dan. “May 6, 1937 — The Hindenburg Disaster.” Airships.net, 20 Feb. 2017, www.airships.net/blog/may-6-1937-hindenburg-disaster/.
“Harriet Tubman.” Timeless Wikia, timeless.wikia.com/wiki/Harriet_Tubman.
Kaufman, Rachel. “An Elementary Lesson in Women’s Suffrage: ‘Timeless’ Season 2, Episode 7, Recapped.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 29 Apr. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/elementary-les....
Kaufman, Rachel. “Pilot, Thinker, Soldier, Spy: The Epic ‘Timeless’ Season Finale Twofer.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 13 May 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pilot-thinker-soldi....
Ricca, Brad. Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. St. Martin’s Press , 2017.
Ricca, Brad. “Searching for Grace Humiston: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.” The History Reader, 17 Jan. 2017, www.thehistoryreader.com/modern-history/grace-humi....
“Timeless — Grace Humiston Speaks Out.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwToiLfPWq4.